Filler for concrete joints



Sept. 29, 1970 c. KOZIKOWSKI 1 3,530,629

I FILLER FOR CONCRETE JOINTS Filed Dec. 30, 1968 United States Patent 3,530,629 FILLER FOR CONCRETE JOINTS Casimir Kozikowski, 44 Crescent St., New Britain, Conn. 06051 Filed Dec. 30, 1968, Ser. No. 787,901 Int. Cl. E01c 11/10; E041? 15/14 US. Cl. 52396 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The filler comprises an elongated sheet of compressible material, such as cellular plastic, cork or the like, in any desired thickness. At least the broad faces of the sheet are covered by a fabric, preferably a fairly open mesh glass cloth, and coated with an epoxy resin which gives the sheet board-like rigidity without surrendering its compressibility. In a preferred form, brackets are secured to the faces of the thus prepared sheet by an epoxy cement to support longitudinally extending steel rods which facilitate attachment of the filler to reinforcing steel members in the concrete construction, add strength to the filler, and which also provides reinforcing for the concrete adjacent the filler sheet. The preferred form also includes an exposed edge portion which can be removed, if desired, after application of the filler in a concrete construction, to provide space for insertion of a joint sealer element.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As can be seen from the foregoing abstract, the invention is in the field of heavy concrete construction such as in the building of roadways, walkways, bridges and concrete building structures. In such forms of construction, an expansion joint is provided between adjacent slabs or sections of concrete whether such slabs or sections are poured in place or preformed and/or prestressed. It has long been recognized that it is desirable to provide a filler in such joints which will accommodate expansion of the concrete adjacent the joints, and also contraction thereof, and which will prevent the undue accumulation of water and waste in the joints areas which form a pack and/or which may freeze to disrupt the natural expansion and contraction of the adjoining concrete.

According to the prior art, various fillers or filler substances have been suggested for the filling of joints between concrete areas, but they have not been entirely satisfactory. For the most part, filler or filler substances which proved to be satisfactory to accommodate the expansion and contraction of the adjacent concrete have been extremely difiicult to handle and to put into place for the pouring of the concrete or for the placement of concrete slabs adjacent thereto.

In accordance with the present invention, a filler is provided which has sufiicient structural integrity to permit its assembly, along with concrete reinforcing steel members et cetera. In fact, the filler provided according to this invention is sufficiently rigid to act as a pouring form for an edge of a concrete slab while still permitting expansion of the slab into the joint area where-in the said filler is placed.

Therefore, it may be said that it is a general object of the present invention to provide an elongate filler which can be cut to any desired length and easily handled and put in place as a form, where necessary, by being readily attached to other form elements and reinforcing steel used in concrete and which at the time accommodate all of the expansion and contraction which could be accommodated by the more conventional filler elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a portion of a filler provided in accordance with the present invention oriented to fill a vertically extending joint.

FIG. 2 is a transverse cross sectional view taken as indicated by the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, but showing the filler element oriented for a horizontal joint.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but shows the filler element in place in a concrete joint.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the various views of the drawing, the filler provided in accordance with the present invention is designated generally by the reference number 10. This filler constitutes a composite sheet which includes a relatively wide section 12 (no view shows its entire width) and a narrow sheet 14 which are connected together in longitudinal edge abutting relationship. The material used in making the sections 12 and 14 may be the same or they may be different, but preferably both sections comprise and are made of a readily compressible material such as a cellular plastic of the nature of Styrofoam, cork, or the like. While the composite sheet 10 and the wide section 12 can be made in any width desired to suit the joint to be filled, the said sheet should be provided in sufficient thickness to accommodate by its transverse compression the expansion of adjacent concrete slabs or members 16 and 18 (FIG. 3) between which it is placed to fill an expansion joint.

Whether the sheet 10 is provided in a single section or in multiple sections as shown, it is initially relatively flexible when provided in any length and thus it is hard to manage and to put in place in forms before the pouring of concrete. In order to overcome this objection, the side faces of the composite sheet which will be engaged by the concrete when poured are treated with a liquid coating material capable of setting in a relatively hard coat. Preferably, an epoxy resin is used, and it has been found that after the liquid resin has been applied and permitted to set it will give the sheet 10 a board-like rigidity which permits it to be easily handled and put into place. It is a further feature of the construction to apply a thin cover sheet 20 to each of the faces of the filler receiving the epoxy to further enhance the structural integrity and rigidity of the filler sheet 10. The cover sheet 20 preferably comprises a fabric of the nature of a fairly open mesh glass cloth.

In addition to providing the composite filler sheet 10 with board-like rigidity and structural integrity, the application of the cloth and the epoxy resin serves to at least in part connect the two sections 12 and 14 of the composite sheet together. However, since it is contem plated that the composite sheet may be produced in an extrusion process wherein the sheet sections 12 and 14 are being extruded longitudinally in side by side edge abutting relationship while the glass cloth and resin are being applied to their side faces, it is desirable to connect them together prior to the application of the cloth as by a layer of cement or resin 22 introduced between their abutting longitudinal edges.

It is a further feature of the invention to provide the resulting board-like filler with at least one and preferably a plurality of rods 24, 24 secured to its side faces and preferably extending longitudinally therealong. The rods 24, 24 are secured to the faces of the board-like filler 10 in spaced relationship thereby by being welded to longitudinally spaced apart brackets 26, 26 which can be securely fastened to the faces of the filler by the use of gobs of epoxy resin 28, 28.

The steel rods 24, 24 are secured only to the wider section 12 when a multiple section filler 10 is constructed, because the narrower section 14 may be removed after the joint has been completed as will hereinafter be described. The said rods facilitate attachment of the filler 10 to a structural steel or reinforcing steel used in the form construction in which the concrete is to be poured. It has been found that the filler board 10 with the attached steel rods 24, 24 can be sawed into any desired length by a saw cutting through the steel rods and the filler 10 to which they are attached, and the construction is sufficiently rigid to permit this without damage to or disconnection of any of the parts. Further, when the filler has been put in place with other elements defining the concrete pouring form, the rods 24, 24 provide reinforcing for the concrete sections 16 and 18 poured into the forms. That is, the said rods reinforce the concrete in the area adjacent the joint which is filled.

It will be noted that in the specific embodiment shown, the relatively narrow section 14 of the composite filler 10 is of truncated cross sectional configuration and is thicker at its longitudinal edge adjoining the longitudinal edge of the wider section 12. The section 14 is provided in this particular configuration so that it may be removed from the expansion joint after the concrete has been poured and set as shown in FIG. 3, thereby leaving a cavity of its particular shape which will accommodate a conventional joint seal strip having substantially the same shape. A plastic solvent may be used to remove the section 14 when desired, or it may be routed or otherwise removed at the joint.

It is to be understood that when a composite sheet is made to provide for removal of the exposed relatively narrow section for the accommodation of a seal strip that the said narrow section 14 need not necessarily have the cross sectional configuration shown and it need not necessarily be made of the same resilient material used in the wider section 12. For example, the section 12 can be made of Styrofoam or cork, and the section 14 can comprise a wood strip equal in thickness or even less 40 thick than the section 12. After the concrete has been poured in place and has set, the wood strip can be ripped out of the joint or in any other convenient way removed therefrom. It should also be understood that it is not always necessary or desirable to have a removable exposed section for the filler board. The removable section is employed primarily for installations wherein the expansion joint is exposed to the elements and it is desirable to provide a conventional joint seal strip along the exposed edge. This may not be necessary or desirable where the joint is not exposed to the damage of elements.

What is claimed is:

1. A filler in a concrete joint comprising an initially relatively flexible body of readily compressible material of sufficient thickness to accommodate by compression the expansion of concrete abutting its faces at a joint between adjacent concrete elements, the said body comprising two rectangular sections disposed in longitudinal edge abutting relationship and wherein one section is relatively wide and the other section is relatively narrow, a thin cover sheet material covering at least said faces of said body and being treated with an epoxy resin capable of setting in a relatively hard coat which gives the body board-like rigidity for handling and placement at the joint with another longitudinal edge of the narrow section of the body exposed.

2. A filler as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one bracket is secured to at least one of the said faces of the compressible body and at least one rod is supported by said bracket to extend along said face.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,240,286 5/ 1941 Kinzer 94-1 8 2,577,997 12/1951 Carter 94l8 2,731,682 1/1956 Evans. 3,314,379 4/ 1967 Krokos 248224 3,418,899 12/1968 Fujihara 9418 2,782,465 2/ 1957 Pahner 52-309 FOREIGN PATENTS 867,495 1961 Great Britain.

JOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 9418.2 

